Bolam Lake Camping Paddock

View prices & book 9.8 181 reviews
Visitor image of the peaceful paddock & lovely views
Visitor image of the beautiful rainbow over the site
Green surroundings
Aerial view over the site

  • Dog-friendly wild camping site opposite Bolam Lake Country Park
  • A 25-minute drive from Hadrian’s Wall; 40 minutes from the coast
  • Barbecues permitted; walking/cycling routes and a food shop nearby
Wake up in peaceful paddocks surrounded by the Northumberland countryside and finish off the day with a lakeside walk. Bolam Lake Camping Paddock is a dog-friendly wild camping site opposite Bolam Lake Country Park, so head out in search of birds, picnic on the shores or grab a homemade scone from the café and visitor centre as you please. These paddock pitches are enclosed in a peaceful area next to a woodland where it’s pretty sheltered, and they have rather scenic views of the surrounding farmland. Still, while it may be pretty nicely tucked away, there’s still much to do out and about. Belsay, a scenic village with a small shop and café, is 45 minutes’ walk away (or a five-minute drive) and Ponteland is another spot with a selection of local shops, pubs, cafés, restaurants and takeaways. Of course, there’s Hadrian’s Wall too (Heddon-on-the-Wall is 25 minutes’ drive away). The splendid Northumberland coast is 40 minutes’ drive away, and to the north, the Scottish border is within reach too if you’re looking to cross into different territories. As for walking, well, there's certainly no shortage of trails around, including several routes that depart from the site. When you feel like mixing things up with a cycle instead, there are routes for both beginners and pros surrounding the site too. Wherever you end up during the day, you’ll likely want to make sure you’re back in time for sunset, as there are lots of ways to unwind – perhaps with a walk around the lake or knocking back a few burgers with a barbecue.

Site type

Motorhome pitches 2
Tent pitches 6
Open now
Opens 18 April
Please note
  • This site has no on-site shower facilities.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • Group bookings of 4 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 18 or over.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the site are unlit.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 18 Apr to

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

99%

would recommend this site to a friend

98%

would stay here again

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    10
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Fantastic location, lovely owners

Overall 8/10
Location 9
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 7
Customer service 9
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 1
Rich G. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Great location and views.
Amenities well looked after and owners welcoming.

Disliked: Pitches close together and busy so did mean that noise carried with music etc

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for taking the time to share your feedback as it is so helpful.

We are pleased that you liked the location and felt that the amenities were well maintained.

We are sorry that you felt that the pitches were close together - we like to offer our guests very spacious pitches but it was a very busy weekend. If guests would like more space we will always try our very best to offer an alternative, quieter pitch.

Thanks so much for staying with us and we hope that visit again in the future.

Would like to return for a little longer to explore the area

Overall 9/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 5
Customer service 8
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness No rating
Wifi No rating
Jo A. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Lovely location , beautiful views with lake and coffee shop across the road. Friendly owner

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback.

We are a Wanderlust campsite located in beautiful Northumbrian countryside so we offer simple camping but it's important to us that guests are have everything they need for a comfortable stay.

We are 'locals' and always around to offer advice on great places to explore if you plan to return to Northumberland.

Thank you for staying with us.

Fantastic campsite- hosts were the nicest couple I've ever met. Nothing was…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Theresa S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

1 bedroom on-site touring caravan

Liked: Fantastic campsite- hosts were the nicest couple I've ever met. Nothing was any trouble. Campsite was spacious,clean and tidy. Facilities are basic but immaculate. We had a lovely walk around Bolam Lake which is directly opposite and went to the National Trust Wallington which was about a 10 minute drive. Will be back very soon

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for your very kind feedback and your very constructive comments.

Our glamping caravan is a new addition to our site this year and your feedback is so helpful.

Our aim is to offer - the best bits of off grid camping in beautiful countryside without the hassle of setting up a tent. Our caravan benefits from picturesque views and has everything hopefully you need for a comfortable and relaxing stay – all equipment, a 6ft bed (just bring your own duvet/sleeping bags and pillows), a gazebo, barbeque facilities, outside seating area with tables and chairs and parking next to the caravan.

It was lovely to meet you and we hope that you enjoyed your visit to Wallington.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope you visit again soon. Great photo too !

Gorgeous location

Overall 7/10
Location 10
Value for money 6
Accommodation 5
Facilities / Activities 5
Customer service 7
Child friendliness 7
Cleanliness 7
Wifi 7
Elaine E. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Lovely campsite, the location is ideal, beautiful views and horses, the toilets were clean and the owners are very welcoming.

Disliked: The cost of the fire pit is quite high, another £20 a night for the pit and wood adds up but felt you had no option.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for your feedback as it is so helpful.

It was great to meet you and we hope you enjoyed your stay with your family.

We are sorry that you felt that the cost of the fire pit kits was quite high. We send out information to all of our guests prior to their visit, which includes information about our fire pit kits which are available to hire - this is an optional extra and guests are not obliged to hire them.

We offer fire pit hire so that guests can, if they wish enjoy a campfire which is set up by David in a safe environment.

Recommend this sute

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Great site
Easily accessible
Clean friendly
Toilets excellent
Definitely will be back
Owner extremely friendly!

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks for sharing your feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

We offer simple camping in a lovely location but it's important to us that our guests have everything they need for a relaxing and comfortable stay.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope that you visit the area again soon.

Very neat and tidy site. Gorgeous views. Site owner David really friendly…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities No rating
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Helen S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Very neat and tidy site. Gorgeous views. Site owner David really friendly and helpful. Bolam lake literally over the road with really lovely walks. 2 pubs with food a short drive away.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback as it is so helpful to us and other campers when choosing a campsite.

Bolam Lake Country Park is lovely, with great walks and a popular coffee shop.

We are located in the heart of the Northumbrian countryside but we have a lovely village shop and great local pubs.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope you visit again soon.

spotlessly clean. lovely couple that run the sight.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Barrie G. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: peace and quiet. horses and the tranquil setting.

Disliked: nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback as it's so helpful to us and to other guests when they are planning a camping trip that suits their needs.

We are a Wanderlust site located in lovely Northumbrian countryside so we aim to offer simple camping with spacious pitches, very clean facilities and easy access to great countryside.

We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay and we hope that you visit the area again soon.

Best wishes and happy camping:)

Quiet campsite in nice location. Perfect little spot. Owners on site very…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Quiet campsite in nice location. Perfect little spot. Owners on site very welcoming

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your review.

We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us and we hope that you visit again very soon to explore this lovely part of Northumberland.

Good site with friendly site and very clean areas.

Overall 8/10
Location 8
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Shaun C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Very clean site with great views and if you love horses even better. Friendly owners. Would stay again.

Disliked: Fire pit hire was pricey, every other site we stayed you paid for a fire pit and starter kit with logs, then just pay each day for logs. This site makes you pay for rental of fire pit every day at cost of £18 with logs??? Very pricey if you’re staying over a few days. Not much to do around the area.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for sharing your feedback as it is so helpful to us and other campers too. It was great to meet you all and so sorry that you didn't have more time to visit some of the great places in this area of Northumberland - the Northumbrian coastline is beautiful too.

We are sorry that you felt that the fire pit hire was expensive. We hope that our fire pit kits are good value for money as it includes a large fire pit, a box of fire lighters, matches, kindling and a large bag of logs. We offer fire pit kits as an optional extra to our campers and they are very popular but we will review this.

Thanks so much and we hope that you visit the area again in the future.

Lovely peaceful site. Great communication from the owners with really detailed guidance…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass campervan pitch

Liked: Lovely peaceful site. Great communication from the owners with really detailed guidance for getting there and where to pitch. Very clean loos!

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks so much for your feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay.

We always send out detailed information to guests when they book with us to outline our location, facilities, site information, fire pit hire etc. We also provide information about local visitor attractions, shopping, places to eat etc - we hope this is helpful but we are always on hand to offer advice too.

Thanks for staying with us and we hope that you visit again soon.


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available Car parking by pitch/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Peaceful Wild camping

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Shop nearby

Type

Small (11-25 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Climbing nearby Cycling nearby

Location

Bolam Lake Camping Paddock

Belsay

Northumberland

England

NE20 0HE

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London BST (GMT+01:00)

GPS

55.1332°N
-1.8688°W

Nearest transport

Coach
2.4 mi The Arcade
2.4 mi The Arcade
3.1 mi Road end
Rail
7.6 mi Morpeth Rail Station
9.2 mi Newcastle Airport Metro
9.4 mi Pegswood Rail Station
Ferry
19.1 mi North Shields Ferry Terminal
19.3 mi Newcastle International Ferry Terminal
19.4 mi South Shields Ferry Terminal
Airport
9.2 mi Newcastle International Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Want to feel like lord or lady for an afternoon? Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens (10 minutes' drive) should soon ignite that fantasy. The medieval castle and gardens are one of a couple of historic properties around. The National Trust’s Wallington (10 minutes) has cycle hire so that visitors can take in views of the historical house the traditional way. Hikes-wise, Shaftoe Crags (10 minutes) has a circular walk with plenty of bouldering spots along the way. Hike along the historic Hadrian’s Wall to Housesteads Roman Fort (40 minutes) too. For beach time, Blyth and Cresswell are both excellent sandy options, and both about 40 minutes away – the former has beach huts while the latter has sand dunes. Those with kids are likely to be keeping their eyes peeled for easy entertainment options too. Very handily, Whitehouse Farm Centre (20 minutes) runs animal feeding sessions as well as things like tractor rides, and Go Ape Matfen (25 minutes) has a treetop assault course for the extra brave. Newcastle upon Tyne city centre (half an hour) has plenty of family-friendly attractions to add to that.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Newbiggin South 14.3 mi Sea N/AGoodExcellentExcellent
Newbiggin North 14.6 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentGood
Blyth South Beach 14.8 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Druridge Bay South 14.8 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Seaton Sluice 15.8 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens 2.2 mi

George Stephenson's Birthplace 10.9 mi

Prudhoe Castle 11.6 mi

Cragside House, Gardens and Estate 12.5 mi

Chesters Roman Fort 12.9 mi

National Trust

Wallington 3.8 mi

Cherryburn 12.1 mi

Cragside 12.8 mi

Seaton Delaval Hall 15.1 mi

Holy Jesus Hospital 15.2 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Bolam Lake - Shaftoe Craggs circular 0.1 mi

BELSAY HALL 2.3 mi

Hartburn Circular 2.8 mi

CAPHEATON 3.2 mi

WALLINGTON 3.7 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Offers

Conditions apply - see pitch type section for details

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Northumberland?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Bolam Lake Camping Paddock have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Bolam Lake Camping Paddock dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Bolam Lake Camping Paddock? Want to feel like lord or lady for an afternoon? Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens (10 minutes' drive) should soon ignite that fantasy. The medieval castle and gardens are one of a … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Bolam Lake Camping Paddock?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  12 p.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Bolam Lake Camping Paddock? From £25 (for 1 night, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.